Lifestyle | Beauty | Travel

Hey wanderers! If you love to travel like I do, then you KNOW the importance of a carry-on bag – and how much stress and planning can sometimes go into it. Trying to fit all of your necessities into what seems like the smallest bag in the world is sometimes more work than the actual travel itself. Over the years, I’ve carefully practiced this skill – whether it be for day trips, week trips, or sometimes month long trips. Someone give me my PhD already! 🤷

In two weeks I’m heading out on my next adventure – two weeks in Ireland! I am so very excited, but being the anxious planner and travel-a-holic that I am, I’ve already begun packing in my head.

Since I’ll be gone for a few weeks, and am going to need anything from boots to heavy jackets, I’m justifying a checked bag. But for me, the hardest part it going to be packing the carry-on bag. I’d like to think that I’m a pretty experienced traveler, but with longish layovers, overnight flights and everything in between, you never know what you’re going to get.

Finding the Perfect Bag

Over the years, I’ve had my fair share of trial and error with bags. Finding the perfect bag can certainly depend on the occasion, and I’ve definitely gotten it wrong a few times. This bag is my ultimate go to for travel. It’s fairly cheap, but it’s such good quality. It’s rough and tough, which is perfect for me, as I never know what I’m going to get myself into. My favorite part is that there are so many little compartments and pockets. I love (attempting) to be super organized, so it’s really nice to know that everything is where it needs to be and that it hasn’t gotten lost in a bunch of clutter (i.e. my purse, lol).

Headphones: My saving grace on long flights and the best way to avoid any awkward situation.

Wallet, passport, and any other important travel documents: I usually try to keep these in a safer part of my bag, but still easily accessible. I love using a smaller wallet as well, with just the essentials in it, so that it’s not so bulky in my bag and easy to carry with me through TSA or when I’m buying a snack.

Medicines: If you’re anything like me, you wouldn’t be caught dead traveling without things like Ibuprofen, cold & flu medicine, etc. There’s nothing worse than getting a headache mid-flight and not having anything to relieve it. I always triple check to make sure I have these things with me!

Hand sanitizer: I don’t think I need to explain this one. I’m not a germaphobe, but just thinking about how many people could have touched the same surfaces you are is enough to make me gag.

Chapstick: I take this everywhere I go normally, but this is a huge one for me on flights specifically. Airplane air is so dry and if my lips are uncomfortable, I’m uncomfortable.

Toothbrush & toothpaste: This is huge for me, especially on long haul flights!

Face wipes: There’s nothing more refreshing than being able to clean your face (or anything else) while traveling. Seriously such an underestimated carry-on item!

Lotion (travel size): For me, this is so very helpful during travel days. Airplane air, as we all know, is super dry. I hate having dry hands, so I always bring this with me. Hand Food by Soap & Glory is my all-time favorite, and it comes in the perfect travel size bottle.

Gum: I’d be silly to go on flights, or any travel really, without this. Gum is a miracle worker when it comes to help popping your ears with the pressure changes on flights and helps freshen your breathe if you can’t get somewhere to brush those pearly whites. I personally also love having gum because it helps cause any anxiety I might be having. Mint is also a really good at combating nausea, so mint gum is my go-to.

What I Pack: The Fun Stuff

A book: For me, this is a huge one. I find that I can always entertain myself with a book, and getting lost in a good one for hours is a great way to help pass time. I just started reading ‘Cole & Say: Our Surprising Love Story,’ and I’m always reading my favorite book, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’

Comfy socks: The first thing I do when I get settled into my airplane seat is take off my shoes and put on some comfy socks. Being comfortable on flights especially is a huge thing for me. I get mine from Target, and they’re always super cute!

A notebook & pen: I always love having these items available to me, whether it’s for doodling, planning, making lists, or just getting my thoughts out, I always keep them in my carry on.

Hair ties: At home, I can use just the same hair tie for weeks, but I don’t take this risk while traveling. I literally pack at least five! Sometimes (all of the time), you just NEED to get your hair out of your face.

Make-up: Though I typically just pack the essentials, concealer and mascara, I’ve recently been putting my whole make-up bag in my carry-on, if at all possible. I love my make-up, and it’s one of those things that I’d be pretty devastated losing if my checked baggage had been lost. Plus, sometimes I just don’t want to look like a zombie after a long travel day, which is okay too!

What I Pack: The Extras

A Snack: Airport food can get expensive. Sometimes, I’ll bring a snack or two to help get me through the day. Granola bars and crackers are usually my go to. Right now, I’m loving these PB&J bars by Van’s. They’re also gluten free! Fruit is also a good choice, but I like to bring things that don’t tend to make a mess if they get a little squished! An empty, reusable water bottle is also very helpful.

An Extra Pair of Clothes: Sometimes, a travel day can turn into travel days, or you might be going from one climate to another. An extra pair of clothes, if you have room, can be super awesome to have and can help you feel refreshed as well.

Valuables: We’ve all heard it before, if it’s valuable, you DON’T put it in your checked baggage. This is especially true for jewelry and/or other little knick knacks you might have!

And there you go! Now that I’ve given myself the travel bug by writing this post…. Those are pretty much my standard carry-on/airport survival items! What are some items that you guys never travel without? I’d love to know! Thank you so much for reading and I’ll talk to you guys in the next blog post. Until then, stay smiling!

Once again, it’s that time of year! I feel like I just put away my warm winter clothes and started pulling out all my summer favorites. Though I’m sad to see the warm weather officially on its way out, I am so excited for all of the fun things winter brings!

While I’m not always the BIGGEST fan of the cold weather (Okay, fine. I can’t stand it after about five minutes), there IS something magical about the leaves turning those amazing, vibrant colors and falling off, the shorter days, watching a peaceful snowfall and knowing that the holidays are just around the corner.

To me, winter also means beautiful new beauty products. Winter beauty products have always been some of my favorites. I am absolutely head over heels for all of the warm tones, the dramatic lashes and the dark lips. I also love the simplicity of days spent under cozy blankets, watching Hallmark movies and doing face masks while sipping on some hot chocolate in my favorite holiday mug.

It’s so very hard to narrow down my favorite winter essentials, but here are the best of the best. These are products that I’ve used year after year and always repurchase. Let me know if you have loved any of the same products or have any product suggestions!

In my mind, winter is the PERFECT time to go out to my favorite make-up store and buy a new eyeshadow palette. I always see the most gorgeous palettes being put out around the holiday season as well. As I’ve grown out of my teens and into my early twenties, I’ve become a bit less adventurous with eyeshadows, so warm toned palettes are where I thrive!

One of my all time favorite warm-toned palette is the Make Magic Happen palette from Tarte. The gorgeous palette has been one of my go-to’s since it came out in 2017. I love how versatile yet cohesive all of the shades are and I’ve created countless looks with this palette. I feel like you can really create a look for any occasion. The gold tones especially are perfect for the holiday season, and the mix of light and dark shades make transitioning from day time to night time looks so easy. There’s also a perfect blend of matte and glitter shades as well! This palette retails for $32 and can be picked up from any make up store that sells Tarte products.

Fabulous Face Masks ✨

The one downside about winter is that my skin HATES the dry air. Within minutes of stepping outside into the cool air, my skin is screaming for help. No one likes dry skin, so I always make sure I give it some extra extra love around this time of year.

My favorite way to combat dry skin is through a moisturizing facemask. There is no better feeling than putting one of these bad boys on. I can literally feel my skin thanking me when I do!

I have used countless face masks over the years. As someone who has sensitive skin, I am very picky about my face masks. The Refresh & Refine ABH Clay Mask by Beyond Belief is HANDS DOWN my favorite. I LOVE the way that this feels when it’s on my skin and the way my skin feels after its been taken off. The formula is very smooth, especially for a clay mask. It goes on my skin so easily and it’s easy to wash the residue off of my hands afterwards. The biggest plus is that this mask doesn’t have a tingly or burning feeling while on your skin like so many masks do. It feels cool and definitely relaxes my skin if I’m having an acne flare up.

After I take off this mask, my skin feels like I’ve had a professional facial. It is SO soft and glowy and honestly how I wish my skin felt 24/7. This specific mask retails for about $8 from Sally’s Beauty, or can be purchased on Amazon. If you have dry, sensitive skin like me, you MUST check this out!

Lucious Lippies ✨

Okay, so I’d be totally lying if I said that winter beauty wasn’t MADE for lips. Winter is one of my favorite times of of the year, simply because there is always an excuse for a bold, dark lip. From deep pinks and purples to fiery reds, there are so many stunning lipsticks, stains and glosses to choose from.

I personally love dark nude colors, as I feel they compliment my skin tone without totally washing it out. One lip product that I was really impressed with was the NYX Lip Lingerie in the shade ‘Embellishment.’ It’s a dark nude with a purple-y undertone, and I absolutely adore it. It goes on like a gloss but stays like a lip stain. It’s smooth and doesn’t leave your lips feeling dry afterwards – which is a big plus, especially around this time of year! This product retails for around $5, which is honestly such a steal considering it can definitely serve as a dupe for SO many high end lip products.

Another lip product that really wowed me was the Tarteist Lip Paint in ‘Birthday Suit’ by Tarte. It comes off as a medium pink-y nuetral color, but with a few coats you can definitely darken it up. The formula is super lightweight and smooth, so you don’t even feel like you’re wearing more than a chapstick. This product retails $20, which is a little bit pricier than the NYX Lip Lingerie, but SO worth it! A little goes a long way with this product, so I don’t think I will ever run out!

Bombshell Blushes ✨

I always know it’s getting wintery AF when I switch from my fun, sun kissed summer blushes to my darker, more mature blushes. My favorite blush to break out come winter time is definitely Benefit Cosmetics’s Rockateur Blush. It’s got the perfect amount of shine without being too much. I also feel like it’s one of those blushes that can’t be overdone, which can be so easy to do if you tend to get a little blush happy like I do. I take a big fluffy blush brush and go right for it! It looks very natural on, so adding a bit extra will only increase the gorgeous rosy, flirty flushed look.

Side note: Benefit always has the cutest packaging, don’t they? Their packaging ALWAYS catches my eye and makes me want to buy absolutely everything! This blush retails for $30, but if you’re lucky like I was, you can find it in a holiday set with loads of other amazing Benefit blushes and contours!

Blissful Balms ✨

Though these winter essentials were not listed in any particular order, I can confidently say that we saved the best for last: LIP BALM. You guys, I wouldn’t make it through the winter months without my favorite lip balm. As I said earlier, my already sensitive skin tends to get SUPER dry in the winter, so lip balm is for sure my #1 MUST.

I’m pretty picky when it comes to my lips, so I’m going to share with you a few of my favorite lip balms/chapsticks.

Anyone who knows me will tell you that my all time favorite chapstick is Burt’s Bees. I don’t go anywhere without this stuff! Am I that crazy person who has multiple stashed around in their car, purse, and by their nightstand? Yes, confidently. The original (mint) is my absolute favorite, but they make all sorts of different kinds, like Vanilla, Pomegranate, Honey and more! They even have some tinted balms, so you can moisturize and have a pop of color! The best part about Burt’s Bees is that it’s all natural, and the yellow packaging is easy to spot if you have a messy purse like I do.

A few more brands that you can’t go wrong with are Eos, Nivea, Carmex and Blistex. These brands are wonderful as well, and there are so many different options to choose from!

Thank you guys so much for reading my first official blog post! I hope you liked it! Now I want to know, what are some of your winter must haves? Feel free to give me a follow if you’d like to see more, and of course, let me know if you have any comments or suggestions. Talk to you guys soon!

I can’t believe I’m sitting here, writing my very first blog post. This is something I have always wanted to do, but never actually thought I would take the leap and actually move forward with! I’ve been putting this off for YEARS (literally) because I’ve always been afraid of what people will think of me. So what’s changed?

I feel like I spent most of my life so wrapped up in what everyone else’s opinion of me was. This was especially true in the middle I went to. Cliques of girls who shared everything from lipgloss to rude opinions ruled the hallways. By the time we moved along to high school, most of those girls grew out of the ‘mean girl’ mindset that they once held on so dearly to, but that doesn’t mean that my mindset changed. It was still ingrained that no matter what I did, especially if it was something outside of the social norm, I was opening the gates for people to potentially pass judgement on.

Since getting out of my hometown and experiencing the world for myself, I’ve realized that I can’t let those thoughts dominate my world. The only person whose opinion of me matters is my own. If I waited around for everyone to accept everything I did, I wouldn’t have done or be doing half the things I am so proud of myself for. I wouldn’t be living.

With that being said, I’m excited and nervous but SO ready to begin this journey as a blogger. Stay tuned for everything to come!

Get To Know Me!

Hi friends! My name is Kerry. I'm 22 and I'm from Virginia. I love writing and being creative, so it only felt natural that I start a blog so that I could write about all of my favorite things! My world revolves around all things beauty, travel and food related. When I'm not blogging, I love to spend time with friends and family, shop and plan my next adventure. Hope you'll join along for the ride!
xo,
Kerry